SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT:
"The Golden Ratio"

When sitting down to plan your scrapbook page's layout design several important elements must be considered. Two of those elements are: "The Golden Ratio" and "Rule of Thirds." They are similar yet different as you will see.

We have tried to simplify some of the mathematical perspective and elements to provide a workable solution for you to consider and use. You already use these rules, you just may not know it.

"The Golden Ratio"

Let's get through the boring technical stuff first. This rule is a mathematical concept. This concept is an expression of the relationship of two pieces of a whole with other and the whole (thus we get a ratio). golden-spiral This number is represented by the Greek letter Phi (π), and is calculated (this is the mathematical part) as 1 plust the square root of 5, divided by 2. Each succeeding number after 1 is equal to the sum of the two preceding numbers, i.e., 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34, etc. Thus the golden spiral is created. nautilis-shell (More than you wanted to know, but this fact resonates in nature every where.) You can find more technical information on The Golden Rule at Wikipedia.org. sun-flower

With all of this techno-mumbo-jumbo taken care of we'll deal in how it affects you and your scrapbook pages. As noted above you can see it constantly in nature. Another example is in the construct or arrangement of flower seeds and petal on some flowers.

The Golden Ratio has been used by artists and architects since the Renaissance.

Golden Ration Chart This rule has morphed into the "Rule of Thirds," but as you can see by the chart, they are not the same--but similar. You can use both. This Golden Ratio rule simply lets our eyes see objects placed in the ratio to appear perfectly balanced in the photo, or on our scrapbook page. Symmetry is an important part of our design process, and this rule helps us create it on our pages.